Epilepsy neither incurable nor a mental disorder, not ground for divorce: Bombay HC

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has said a spouse being epileptic does not amount to cruelty and is not a ground for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act as epilepsy is neither an incurable disease nor can it be considered a mental disorderA division bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes in its order on Tuesday dismissed a plea filed by a 33yearold man seeking divorce on grounds of cruelty from his wife who he claimed suffered from epilepsy due to which she was mentally unsoundThe bench in its order said epilepsy was neither an incurable disease nor can it be considered a mental disorder or a psychopathic disorder for making a ground for divorce under the Hindu Marriage ActThe man in his plea said his wife was suffering from epilepsy due to which she was not mentally sound which amounted to cruelty and hence he could not live with herHe had sought divorce under Section 13 1 iii of the Hindu Marriage Act which says that if either the man or the woman has been incurably of unsound mind or has been suffering continuously or intermittently from mental disorder of such a kind and to such an extent that the person cannot reasonably be expected to live with the partnerThe woman opposed the plea arguing she had seizures but it had no effect on her mental healthWhile dismissing the mans petition the bench said he has failed to prove that his estranged wife was suffering from epilepsy or even that if she was suffering from such a condition the same could be considered as a ground under Section 13 1 iii of the Hindu Marriage Act for seeking divorceThe HC noted that as per medical evidence every person suffering from epilepsy can lead a normal lifeIt said the woman had suffered only seizures and not from epilepsy and even assuming she was suffering from epilepsy this was certainly not a mental disorder or a psychopathic disorder or for that matter can be even considered as leaving the respondent incurable or of an unsound mindThe medical evidence suggests the woman in the present case does not suffer from epilepsy it notedWe are of the opinion that there is an abundance of medical evidence that such a medical condition could not justify the petitioners stance that the condition would be an impediment to the spouses living together the court saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever